Steven Greenhut: I turned on the Eric Hogue radio show this morning and heard Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, discuss his Senate race with liberal Republican Roger Niello of Fair Oaks and conservative former Assemblywoman Barbara Alby of Folsom. Niello is a big government, tax-raising establishmentarian. Gaines is pitched as the conservative, and is backed by U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock, so I expected to like what I heard. But no way. Gaines was busy explaining why he voted for a ski and snowboarding helmet law — the type of Nanny State, anti-parental-rights deal that Democrats love to pass. Even his rationale was leftist — the government knows what’s best to protect our kids’ safety. I was appalled. I was appalled also by Gaines’ adamant opposition to marijuana legalization, decrying it as a threat to society. He ought to get up to speed on the arguments that real conservatives have long made about individual rights and about the evils of the drug war, which unjustly imprison people, cost enormous amounts of money and embolden the nastiest drug dealers. He obviously doesn’t have a natural, pro-liberty instinct. Gaines also justified his acceptance of the per diem even though he lives near Sacramento. Unfortunately, it looks like my own district will, one way or another, be represented by a big-government type.

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If Barbara Alby gets in this race you would have a pretty good conservative choice I would think! She did very well in this portion of the recent BOE race and has served some of this district in the State Assembly.